A variety of appendage ailments and injuries have continuously plagued people over the years. For example, fingers and toes can become wounded, cut, or blistered. Moreover, the joints of fingers and toes can suffer from a number of ailments, such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, or become jammed, sprained, hyper-extended, dislocated, or broken. In addition, fingers and toes can also be afflicted with warts, or corns. Further, toenails can frequently suffer from fungal infection, referred to as onychomycosis. Additionally, hikers, athletes, joggers, and others often suffer from “blacktoe”, the result of repetitive, forceful striking of the end of a shoe or boot with a toenail.
Traditionally, these appendage ailments have been treated in a variety of ways. For instance, when treating finger cuts or wounds, bandages can be wrapped around the wound to allow healing. Typically, these bandages have a tacky surface formed by an adhesive so that the bandages can stick to a finger for a certain period of time. One example of such bandages are BAND-AIDS, made by Johnson & Johnson, which are commonly used to cover finger and toe wounds. In some instances, these bandages can also deliver an active ingredient to the wound or cut to aid in healing. However, these bandages are not generally comfortable to a user, and can often easily slip off the appendage. For this reason, bandages with enhanced flexibility and elasticity have been developed. Moreover, bandages having various other properties have also been described. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,970 to Berry describes a moisture vapor transmitting elastic bandage, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,908 to Faass describes a self-adhesive, elastic composite material.
In addition to treating cuts and wounds, various techniques have been developed to treat joint ailments, such as jammed fingers, arthritis, and “trigger finger”. For example, to treat a jammed finger, cloth-like wraps and finger sleeves have been developed to be placed around an ailing joint to provide warmth and support thereto. Similar products have also been utilized to treat arthritis. For instance, a finger sleeve marketed as “FINGERS” has been developed to treat arthritis in appendages. This product is primarily designed to provide support to ailing joints, but does not generally deliver active additives, such as medications, to the joint. Moreover, these products are also non-disposable. In addition, these devices are often difficult to process using high speed manufacturing techniques.
Other additional tubular products have also been developed as support mechanisms and wound dressings. For instance, “TUBE GAUZE”, which is commercially available from Tetra Medical Supply Company, is a seamless cotton tubular gauze sold in various sizes. Moreover, “SPANDAGE”, which is commercially available from Medi-Tech International, is an elastic tubular bandage made from elastic and polyester fibers. Examples of other available products include “TOE CAPS” and “DIGI-CUSHIONS”, which are sold by Footsmart. “DIGI-CUSHIONS” are believed to be woven tubes (lycra-like) applied with a polymer gel on their inner layer. “TOE CAPS” are believed to be a foam product used to relieve toe pain and pressure when worn over the tip of a toe. However, the devices mentioned above are often difficult to process using high speed manufacturing techniques.
Moreover, other tubular products have also been developed. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,586 to Hettich describes a tubular support for enclosing a body member, in which the tubular support is elastic and stretchable in all directions. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,181 to Delannoy describes a one-piece tubular dressing made of a woven hydrophilic material. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,525 to Blott describes a tubular undercast padding for a body-immobilizing cast comprising a lofted non-woven fabric formed from a fabric material.